LAS CRUCES >> Curtains are rising on new seasons for the "big three" Las Cruces theater companies: Las Cruces Community Theater, the American Southwest Theatre Company at New Mexico State University and Black Box Theatre/No Strings Theatre Company.

The entertainment roster will feature comedy, drama, mystery, musicals, original works and beloved classics, including new and old takes on Molliere's "Misanthrope" by two area theater companies.

Our reputation as the Broadway of the Southwest gets another boost as ASTC marks its first full season in its new home, the state-of-the art Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre in New Mexico State University's $37.5 milllion Center for the Performing Arts, where Tom Smith, ASTC's managing director, reports the roster "combines hilarious comedies, a Tony-winning new drama, a children's classic, a family musical and a premiere of a new work."

Boba Café, 1900 S. Espina St., puts on regular dinner theater cabaret and special events and premieres of original works and musical revues.

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The Rio Grande Theatre will host several theatrical presentations including traveling shows, special revues, free Every Other Tuesday presentations and annual summer Missoula Children's Theater workshops.

"We'll have lots of surprises, including some top theatrical presentations," said Kathleen Albers, director of the Doña Ana Arts Council which manages the Rio Grande Theatre.

For the second year, music theater fans will be treated to a collaboration between the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra and its conductor, Lonnie Klein, and Tony Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated playwright Mark Medoff.

Medoff directs a 2014 production of "Annie Get Your Gun," with music by Irving Berlin, book by Dorothy and Herbert Fields, and starring Mark Womack, Jessica Medoff and Millinee Bannister. Performances will be Jan. 17, 18, 19 at Atkinson Recital Hall.

"The 'Carousel' production was an overwhelming success and we are again teaming up with Debra Knapp, Bob Diven, Diane Schutz and many other favorite local artists," Klein said.

Other special performances are presented at venues that range from area restaurants to the Pan American Center and the Las Cruces Convention Center.

NMSU Theater Arts Children's Theatre Workshop, now in its 28th year, is a summer program for kids entering grades 1 through 9, founded by NMSU professor Ruth Cantrell. For information, contact 575-646-4517, theatre.nmsu.edu/nmsu/CTW.

A Children's Theatre of the Mesilla Valley (zianet.com/act, 575-571-1413) is a local nonprofit that offers year-round theater and film training to area youth.

Special to the Sun-News The American Southwest Theatre Company will have its first full season in the brand new Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre in NMSU's Center for the Arts. (null)

Mike Groves - Special to the Sun-News Three stars of "Carousel," the first collaboration between Mark Medoff , Lonnie Klein and the Lass Cruces Symphony Orchestram return for a second collaboration: "Annie Get Your Gun," July 17, 18 and 19 at NMSU's Atkinson Recital Hall. From left are Mark Womack, Millinee Banister and Jessica Medoff. (null)

Local public and private schools also offer plays and theatrical presentations throughout the year.

American Southwest Theatre Company at NMSU

Where: Center for the Arts, 1000 E. University Ave.

How much: $15, $13 seniors 65 and up, NMSU faculty/staff, $10 ages 3 to 17, NMSU students. Season tickets are $52; $48 for senior citizens, NMSU faculty/staff, and students, Coupon Book $100 with 8 coupons for any performances. Season subscribers also receive invitations to special events, receive priority reserved seating, and vote for annual acting awards.

"Red," by John Logan: Sept. 27 to Oct. 13. Famed Painter Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, but now faces the challenge of creating work that lives up to its promise and pricetag. 2010 Tony award-winning best play.

"James and the Giant Peach," from the book by Roald Dahl, dramatized by Richard R. George: 7 p.m. Nov. 1 only. James Henry Trotter longs for escape. He finds it on an amazing adventure with new friends, heart-racing challenges and a giant peach.

"A Christmas Carol," adaptation and lyrics by Tom Smith, music by Roger Butterley, Nov. 22 to Dec. 8. Smith's popular production returns as a full-fledged musical. Follow miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge as he confronts Christmases past, present and future.

"Aunt Raini" by Tom Smith, Feb. 21 to March 9. Katherine, a successful gallery owner, must confront whether documentaries left to her should be judged as significant historical artwork or reminders of her aunt's horrific past.

"the Misanthrope," by Moliere, translated by Richard Wilbur, April 18 to May 4. Outraged by false flattery and lies, Alceste declares that he will speak only the truth from now on, no matter what the cost.

"Dames at Sea" by George Haimsohn, Robin Miller, and Jim Wise, directed by Janet Mazdra, Aug. 2 to 18. A long-running hit off-Broadway brought stardom to Bernadette Peters in this campy show based on the nostalgia of Hollywood musicals of the 1930s. Sweet little Ruby from a faraway Hometown U.S.A. has come to make it big on Broadway. When lo! who should she chance to meet but Hometown boy Dick, a sailor, who also has ambitions as a songwriter. Ruby begins in the chorus but in true Hollywood fashion, Dick saves the show with a smash tune, as Ruby becomes a star on the deck of a battleship which just happens to be passing by.

"The School for Lies," by David Ives, based on "The Misanthrope" by Molière, directed by Brandon Brown, Oct. 4 to 20. Ives adds farcical flourishes to Molière's trim plot and blends generous helpings of up-to-the-minute vulgarity into verse that mostly mimics the prancing gait and more decorous tone of the original. In a witty prologue to the play, Ives credits Molière with having mixed "the batter for tonight's soufflé," but it is his own inexhaustible verbal dexterity that makes it rise so deliciously high.

"Come Blow Your Horn," by Neil Simon, directed by Patrick Payne, Dec. 6 to 22. Alan Baker, a 30-ish swinging bachelor with time, money and women to spare, welcomes rebellious and eager 21-year-old brother Buddy into his den of iniquity while their horrified parents can only watch and pray. Simon's first hit Broadway comedy also became a hit movie starring Frank Sinatra.

"The Foreigner," by Larry Shue, directed by Mike Wise, Jan. 31 to Feb. 15. Based on what the New York Post describes as a "devilishly clever idea," the play demonstrates what can happen when a group of devious characters must deal with a stranger who (they think) knows no English. Winner of two Obie Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards as Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production.

"The Lion in Winter," by James Goldman, directed by Monte H. Wright, March 18 to April 3. King Henry II of England has three sons by Eleanor of Aquitaine: Richard, Geoffrey, and John. He wants the kingdom to stay united after his death, but all three sons want to rule and it is likely to be torn apart by revolution. Henry favors the youngest John, while Eleanor favors the eldest, Richard. Middle son Geoffrey hopes to play both ends against each other and come out on top. Henry would like to have another heir by his mistress Alais, but that would only add to the confusion. Uneasy is the head on which the crown lies, and uneasy the truce between a matchless king and queen.

One-Act Play Festival, April 24 to May 10. After a one year hiatus, LCCT's one-act festival returns, showcasing new directors and new plays.

"Ruthless! The Musical," by Joel Paley and Marvin Laird, directed by Autumn Gieb, June 6 through 22. Eight-year-old Tina Denmark knows she was born to play Pippi Longstocking, and she will do anything to win the part in her school musical. "Anything" includes murdering the leading lady. This aggressively outrageous musical hit garnered rave reviews during its long off-Broadway run, which opened with Britney Spears in the leading role.

Black Box Theatre/No Strings Theatre Company

Where: Black Box Theatre, Downtown Mall

When: 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays

How much: $10 regular and $9 students and seniors (over 65). Preferred Patron Package season ticket: $50, $45 students and seniors

"Greater Tuna," by Jaston Williams, Ed Howard & Joe Sears, directed by Ceil Herman, Aug. 23 to Sept. 8. What do Arles Struvie, Thurston Wheelis, Aunt Pearl, Petey Fisk, Phineas Blye and Rev. Spikes have in common? In this hilarious send-up of small town morals and mores, they are all among the upstanding citizens of Tuna, Texas' third smallest town.

"Heroes," by Gerard Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard, directed by larrychandler, Oct. 11 to 27. Three World War I veterans pass their monotonous days in a military hospital by engaging in verbal battles of long-forgotten military campaigns, grumblings about the staff, and reflections on their lives. Their cantankerous camaraderie becomes strained when Gustave conjures up an escape plan. Looking over the cemetery to the poplars beyond, they dream of freedom. Will today be the day they finally make it to Indochina or perhaps only as far as the top of the hill? (Source: amazon.com)

"Nora," by Ingmar Bergman, directed by Ceil Herman, Nov. 29 to Dec. 15. features the famous stage and film director's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen¹s classic play "The Doll's House."

"Romance, Romance," book and lyrics by Barry Harman, music by Keith Herrmann, directed by Karen Caroe, Jan. 24 to Feb. 16. In the first act of Barry Harman and Keith Herrmann's musical, two 19th-century aristocrats meet in disguise, fall in love and worry over how to confess their true identities. In the second act, two married best friends fantasize about sleeping with each other while vacationing in the Hamptons.(playbillvault.com)

"The Women of Lockerbie," by Deborah Brevoort, directed by Nikka Ziemer, March 14 to 30. A mother from New Jersey roams the hills of Lockerbie, Scotland, looking for her son¹s remains which were lost in the crash of Pan Am 103. She meets the Women of Lockerbie, who are fighting the U.S. government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the plane's wreckage. The women, determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, want to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victims' families. Inspired by a true story, although the characters and situations in the play are purely fictional, it is a poetic drama about the triumph of love over hate. (Source: deborahbrevoort.com)

"Murderers," by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Ceil Herman, April 25 to May 11. Three killers tell their stories via three monologues. "The Man Who Married his Mother-in-law" is Gerald Halverson's confession of an elicit love and a plan to shelter $5 million from the IRS. "Margaret Faydle Comes to Town:" Lucy Stickler, the long-suffering wife of Bob, a septuagenarian with a roving eye, constructs a diabolical plan to get rid of her cheating spouse and his AARP inamorata, once and for all. "Match Wits with Minka Lupino" stars Riddle Key's ever-sunny, ever-helpful receptionist, a fan of crime novels who becomes an avenging angel on a mission to rid the retirement community of its predators who prey upon helpless senior citizens. Minka comes face to face with her idol, a famous mystery novelist who has retired to Riddle Key and only one of them will survive. (Source: stageplays.com)

"The House of Blue Leaves," by John Guare, directed by Tom Smith, June 6 to 22. Zoo attendant Artie Shaughnessy dreams of being a successful songwriter. What his mistress, Bunny Flingus, who lives downstairs from his Queens apartment won't tell him, and what his insane wife, Bananas, tries to get through to him, is that Artie's songs stink. The plot involves a papal visit and a bomb plot. (Source: imdb.com, Craig C. Bailey ccb@together.net)

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